Network flow control

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure include a content delivery network (CDN) for delivering content associated with a plurality of different types of applications/devices. Using a CDN flow application, a plurality of network flow parameters are generated for content delivery unique to different types of applications or devices. The network flow parameters include customized data transmission rates. The network flow parameters include predetermined settings for transmission control protocol (TCP) connections between the CDN and devices using a TCP flow control mechanism. Upon receiving a content request, the CDN fulfills the content request based upon first network flow parameters. The network flow parameters may be adjusted for each of the plurality of different types of applications/devices. The network flow parameters may be generated based upon requests or based upon the performance of each of the plurality of applications/devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) from U.S. Patent Application No. 62/298,840, filed Feb. 23,2016, titled “NETWORK FLOW CONTROL,” the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a network, such as a contentdelivery network (CDN), and particularly involve configuring a pluralityof network flow parameters for content delivery unique to a plurality ofdifferent types of applications and/or devices in order to distributecustomized network flow for each of the plurality of different types ofapplications and/or devices and optimize network flow as a whole.

BACKGROUND

The Internet and the World Wide Web (the “Web”) have become ubiquitous.Content providers (publishers) now use the Internet (and, particularly,the Web) to provide all sorts of content to numerous clients all overthe world. In order to offload the job of serving some or all of theircontent, many content providers now subscribe to content deliverynetworks (CDNs). Using a CDN, content can be served to clients from theCDN (i.e., from one or more servers in the CDN) instead of from thecontent provider's server(s). In a caching CDN, content may also becached on some or all of the CDN servers, either before being served orin response to specific requests for that content. Having content cachedwithin edge servers of the CDN enhances the performance of the CDNbecause the content does not have to be retrieved from origin servers orother locations, which are less efficient than edge servers in providingcontent.

Numerous forms of content may be served from the CDN. For example,television shows and movies may now be accessed from any number of Websites, and the shows and movies may actually be served from the CDN.Print newspapers have migrated to the Web and provide portals throughwhich clients operating some form of computing device (e.g., PC, smartphone, or tablet), with a browser may access numerous forms of content,such as short video clips, articles, images, and audio tracks. Softwareupdates and patches, once only provided on disc and mailed torecipients, are now routinely distributed to devices using only networkconnections, and the updates and patches are delivered from a CDN.

A conventional CDN faces various obstacles with respect to network flowand bandwith when distributing content to devices and/or applications.For example, a device may be operating in a network with bandwithlimitations that affect the delivery of content to the device such thatthe device is confined to receiving content from a limited number ofapplications. Further, certain types of applications may be expected tooperate with high performance and minimal issues. More specifically, itmay be desirable to have better content delivery associated with certaintypes of applications in order to reduce buffering or to enable suchapplications to perform in real-time. Further, not all applicationsbehave alike. Some types of applications make use of content receivedfrom the CDN more efficiently than others and can consequently handlefaster data transmission of content from the CDN.

It is with these observations in mind, among others, that variousaspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.

SUMMARY

A need exists for improved network flow in a content delivery network(CDN). Implementations described and claimed herein address theforegoing problems, among others, by providing systems, methods, anddevices for configuring unique network flow control parameters forcontent delivery associated with specific types of applications/devicesin communication with a CDN. Accordingly, one implementation of thepresent disclosure may take the form of a method of optimizing networktraffic flow for a content delivery network (CDN). The method mayinclude the operations of assigning a first network flow parameter for afirst application requesting content from the CDN from one or more userdevices in communication with the CDN, the first network flow parameterestablishing one or more quality of service criteria for a transmissionof the requested content associated with providing content to the firstapplication and receiving a request for content at a content server ofthe CDN from a requesting device, the request received from the firstapplication executing on the requesting device and comprising a hostname associated with the first application. The method may also includethe operations of applying the first network flow parameter fortransmitting the requested content to the requesting device in responseto the host name associated with the first application and transmittingthe requested content to the requesting device with the first networkflow parameters applied to the transmission of the requested contentassociated with providing content to the first application.

Yet another implementation of the present disclosure may take the formof content delivery network (CDN) networking device comprising at leastone communication port for receiving a request for content from a firstapplication executed on a client device, the request comprising anidentification of the content, a processing device, and acomputer-readable medium connected to the processing device configuredto store information and instructions. When the instructions areexecuted, the processing device performs the operations of assigning afirst network flow parameter for a first application, the first networkflow parameter establishing one or more quality of service criteria fora transmission of the requested content associated with providingcontent to the first application, applying the first network flowparameter for transmitting the requested content to the client device inresponse to the identification of the content associated with the firstapplication, and transmitting the requested content to the client devicewith the first network flow parameters applied to the transmission ofthe requested content associated with providing content to the firstapplication.

Yet another implementation of the present disclosure may take the formof a content delivery network (CDN) comprising a first content server.The first content server is configured to assign a first network flowparameter for a first application requesting content form the CDN fromone or more user devices in communication with the CDN, the firstnetwork flow parameter establishing one or more quality of servicecriteria for a transmission of the requested content associated withproviding content to the first application and receive a request forcontent at a content server of the CDN from a requesting device, therequest received from the first application executing on the requestingdevice and comprising a host name associated with the first application.The first content server is also configured to identify a type of thefirst application based on the host name associated with the firstapplication, apply the first network flow parameter for transmitting therequested content to the requesting device in response to the identifiedtype of the first application, and transmit the requested content to therequesting device with the first network flow parameters applied to thetransmission of the requested content associated with providing contentto the first application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure set forth herein should be apparent from the followingdescription of particular embodiments of those inventive concepts, asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. Also, in the drawings the likereference characters refer to the same parts throughout the differentviews. The drawings depict only typical embodiments of the presentdisclosure and, therefore, are not to be considered limiting in scope.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system view of a content delivery network,according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary illustration of configuring or setting networkflow parameters for content delivery associated with specific types ofapplications/devices in a network such as a content delivery network(CDN), according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary process flow for setting a plurality ofnetwork flow parameters to define content delivery for a plurality ofdifferent types of applications and/or devices, according to aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process flow for modifying a pluralityof network flow parameters for content delivery, according to aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a computing system that may implementvarious services, systems, and methods discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems and methods forconfiguring network flow parameters at an edge server, a general server,a rack, cluster or other device of a network such as a content deliverynetwork (CDN) to optimize content delivery, in some cases based on atype of content or application and/or device configured to receive anduse the content. For example, using a CDN flow application, a pluralityof network flow parameters are generated or otherwise controlled forcontent delivery unique to each of a plurality of application types. Thenetwork flow parameters may include, in some instances, customized datatransmission rates, along with other types of network flow controls. Thenetwork flow parameters may also include predetermined settings ormodified algorithms for transmission control protocol (TCP) connectionsbetween the CDN and devices/applications receiving content using a TCPflow control mechanism. For example, upon receiving a content requestfor some particular application or content, the CDN fulfills the contentrequest to a requesting device based upon network flow parametersconfigured for the type of requested application/device. Aspects of thepresent disclosure further include modifying the network flow parametersbased upon requests and the performance of the applications/devices.

Content is created and often electronically stored on origin serversfrom which it may be distributed over networks. Such content may includeweb content, applications, software patches, downloadable objects, andstreaming media. The term “content” as used herein may further mean anykind of data, in any form, regardless of its representation andregardless of what it represents. For example, the term “content” mayinclude, without limitation, static and/or dynamic images, text, audiocontent, including streamed audio, video content, including streamedvideo, web pages, computer programs, documents, files, and the like.Some content may be embedded in other content, e.g., using markuplanguages such as HTML and XML. “Content” includes content which iscreated or formed or composed specifically in response to a particularrequest. The term “resource” is sometimes used herein to refer tocontent.

The content may be utilized by or accessible from one or moreapplications. Such applications may comprise media players, operatingsystems, websites, gaming applications, mobile applications, and thelike. The applications may request content, and that content may bedelivered by a CDN. For example, a video streaming application may makeoccasional requests for video content and that content request will bedirected to the CDN to deliver the content.

A CDN is a type of network comprising a system of distributed servers,edge servers, racks, or clusters that distribute content to a devicerequesting the content. In order to offload the job of serving some orall of their content, many content originators or other contentproviders subscribe to CDNs. Using a CDN, content can be served todevices from the CDN (e.g., from one or more servers in the CDN) insteadof from the content originators' server(s). Specifically, contentoriginators may share content with a CDN and permit the CDN to managecontent requests and distribution. CDNs offer numerous advantagesincluding facilitating content delivery with high traffic acrossnumerous locations. CDNs further implement certain technologies such ascomplex caching in order to optimize content delivery and are often wellequipped to service a wide variety of content requests. Generally, asexplained in greater detail below, a content request is often initiatedby a device and/or application in communication with the CDN. A contentrequest may also be initiated by software update programs or deviceswhich may request content automatically to receive patches or softwareupdates. As one specific example, a content request may request tostream video media via an application such as a media playerapplication. If a CDN has been configured or tasked to handle contentrequests for such video media, the request will be routed to andretrieved by the CDN. Thereafter, one or more content servers of the CDNare chosen (based on location, availability, cost, and/or other metrics)to process the request for content and transmit video media content tothe device and/or application. Upon receiving the video media contentfrom the CDN, the media player device can stream then play the video onthe device. In some cases, it should be understood that content requestsprocessed by a CDN may still involve cooperation from origin serverswhere certain content is not cached or readily available for deliveryvia the CDN. In other cases, the CDN may have its own origin serverwhich may be used to obtain content, which may then be locally cachedupon use metrics such as volumes of requests, popularity, and the like.

In the course of distributing content, management of network flow fromthe CDN to devices communicating with the CDN is a key objective. Yet,CDN operators face various obstacles specific to bandwith and networkflow when delivering content. For example, certain types of applicationsmay perform differently at a device executing the applications ascontent is delivered to the applications. Further, one or moreapplications may be of higher priority such that it may be desirable tomaximum network flow for content requests associated with the higherpriority applications. Further still, application providers may desirethat the CDN deliver content to applications at consistent andpredetermined rates in order to reduce buffering and optimizeperformance. In some cases, it is also desirable to limit network flowavailable for content requests associated with certain applications.

As one specific example, it may be desired to stream high definitionmedia via a high-definition (HD) video application. To stream media, theHD video application may initiate one or more content requests from aCDN. To accommodate application specific technical considerations of theHD video application, such as high bandwidth to reduce buffering eventsat the requesting device, the CDN may fulfill content requests to the HDvideo application using network flow settings that take into accountsuch technical considerations.

The quality of service through which the content is provided to arequesting device using various aspects of the present disclosureinclude those primarily based on the application requesting the content(e.g., a media player), the type of content requested, and/or the devicerunning the application (e.g. a tablet running the media player). Withrespect to applications, for example, a video application executed onthe requesting device may be provided network flow criteria commiseratewith a video stream, such as high bandwidth, real-time performanceadjustment in the content flow, and the like. In general, the flowcharacteristics are set at the providing server or otherwise within theCDN when the content is requested to provide a particular level orquality of service to the content transmission. In another example, suchas for a request for a patch or update download from the CDN, lessrigorous flow characteristics may be set by the providing server, likebackground downloading and low priority queuing within the transmissionnetwork. These flow parameters may reflect that the patch download doesnot require a high bandwidth or may not be as important to the receivingdevice as other requested content. In this manner, an operator of theCDN may provide various flow characteristics to customers that hostcontent on the CDN that equate to the type of content being madeavailable from the CDN. Further, by controlling the network flow at theCDN, less necessary content may be prevented from overloading thetransmission routes from the CDN and slowing the transmission of othercontent.

In some instances, the network flow control may be utilized during thetransmission of content to address changes in performance orcapabilities of the network and/or the requesting device. For example, avideo application may include functionality to request/retrieve contentfrom a CDN at varying rates as bandwith becomes more available. Morespecifically, the video application may be programmed to request lesscontent as bandwith limitations are imposed on the video application,but may be programmed to jump back and request more content assufficient bandwith becomes available. Such programming may enable thevideo application to maintain streaming without interruption, but canalso result in fluctuations of performance of the video application andconsequently result in fluctuations of the end user experience at thedevice receiving content. Many of these shortcomings are addressed byvarious aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a CDN system 100 in accordance with variousembodiments of the present disclosure. CDN system 100 includes a CDN 104and a CDN flow application 112. FIG. 1 further illustrates a network 102and an Internet service provider (ISP) 106, which may also be involvedin connecting a device to the CDN 104. Network 102 may include anysystem capable of passing content and communications between the devicessuch as, the Internet, a virtual private network, a local area network,a wide area network, a Wi-Fi network, a cellular network, or anycombination thereof. “Communicably coupled,” or “coupled” as usedherein, includes any means of coupling whereby information is passed,such as, e.g., electrically coupled by a wire, optical cable, orwirelessly coupled by a radio frequency or any such wireless media andmay include both direct coupling and indirect coupling. Routing includesany action taken to transfer, initiate, terminate, end, and/or directcontent and associated data.

The network 102 includes a routing device 110. For simplicity, only onerouting device is shown, however, a network may have numerous suchdevices. The routing device 110 may include any device capable ofrouting content and associated data to a device and can include one ormore of a router, a switch, a session border controller (SBC), agateway, a gateway controller, a proxy server, or a feature server. Insome embodiments, routing device 110 assists with network flow accordingto instructions provided by CDN 104 and the CDN flow application 112.

The CDN 104 includes one or more of an edge server, a general server, arack, cluster and combinations thereof for managing and distributingcontent. The CDN 104 serves content from devices, such as the mentionedservers, based on requests from a device and some associatedapplication. In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the CDN 104distributes content to devices 120 a and 120 b according to logic andinstructions provided by the CDN flow application 112, as explained ingreater detail below.

Exemplary applications X, Y, and Z are shown and executed by devices 120a and 120 b. Application X 170, Application Y 172, and Application Z 174may request content from CDN 104 in order to stream media or displayimages or otherwise consume the requested content. While three exemplaryapplications are shown, it should be understood that devices 120 mayexecute any number of applications and that devices 120 may execute,simultaneously, one or more applications (e.g., both Application X andApplication Z) such that devices 120 may, via one or more applicationsbe making multiple content requests from CDN 104 at any given time. Infurther embodiments, a single application such as Application X may makecontent requests associated with different types of content which may behandled by one or more different servers of a CDN such as CDN 104. Itshould be understood that content requests processed by CDN 104 maystill involve cooperation from origin servers 108 where certain contentis not cached or readily available for delivery via the CDN 104. Inother cases, the CDN 104 may have its own origin server which may beused to distribute content, which may then be locally cached upon usemetrics such as volumes of requests, popularity, and the like.

An Internet service provider (ISP) 106 is communicably coupled with oneor more devices 120 (120 a and 120 b) and is further coupled to network102. For example, FIG. 1 shows device 120 a which may be a smartphone,and device 120 b which may be a laptop coupled to the ISP 106. Devices120 a and 120 b receive content from the CDN 104 via the network 102.ISP 106 enables devices 120 a and 120 b to connect to the Internet,access the network 102, and access content from the CDN 104.

The devices 120 are operated by end users of the network 102 and CDN104. Each of the devices 120 a and 120 b may include some form ofconventional device such as personal computer, a thin client, a tablet,a smart phone, a set-top box, a cable box, or the like, that is capableof running a browser and providing a user with the ability to requestcontent over a network connection, or some other application suitablefor interacting with a network and requesting content therefrom. Thedevices 120 a and 120 b may be a consumer device deployed in a publicnetwork, may be an enterprise device deployed in private network orother type of device.

Content Delivery

With CDN system 100, a request for content may originate from anapplication executed by a computing device, such as devices 120 a and120 b. A network connection, in many instances, will be provided to thedevices 120 by the ISP 106 operating one or more resolvers. A resolver,also referred to as a domain name service (DNS) resolver, is a deviceused to resolve a network address (e.g., translate a domain name into anIP address) for a content request. Generally speaking, the resolvercontacts (e.g., queries) a DNS infrastructure, which may involve manydifferent components, to resolve a network address for a contentrequest.

To illustrate some aspects of the disclosure, a user, operating thedevice 120 a may utilize Application X 170 to initiate a request tostream video media from the CDN 104. As such, Application X will sendout a request for content associated with the video media request. Insome embodiments, CDN 104 is configured to retrieve and handle suchrequests and as such, the request for content is routed to an edgeserver of the CDN 104 for processing and content delivery. Moreparticularly, servers of the CDN 104 may be located in numerous remotelocations. When a user initiates such a request, the DNS will resolve toa particular CDN 104 edge server (based on location, availability, cost,and other metrics) and that server of the CDN 104 will handle therequest.

CDN 104 and/or CDN flow application 112 may identify and interpret therequest for content based on a host name. A host name may include adomain name such as www.amazingvideo.com or other identifyinginformation. Identifying the source of the content may allow CDN 104 todetermine how to process the request as the host name may be associatedwith a particular application which has been assigned particular networkflow parameters. As explained in greater detail below, network flowparameters define how the request should be fulfilled or otherwiseprovided to the requesting device. Through the network flow parameters,the content delivery is tailored specific to types of applicationsand/or devices requesting the content. In other embodiments, the networkflow parameters are specific to a type of provider of the content. Insome embodiments, in the course of managing network flow and fulfillingcontent requests, CDN 104 can distinguish between content requests byanalyzing headers or by using a differentiated services bit set.

Returning to the client request, in order to facilitate contentdelivery, the device 120 a may establish a transmission control protocol(TCP) connection with an edge server of the CDN 104 configured to handlethe request. Thereafter, Application X 170 may receive the video contentfrom the edge server of the CDN 104 via the TCP connection. In alternateembodiments, content delivery may be achieved via a user datagramprotocol (UDP) connection.

Upon receipt by the device 120 a and/or Application X 170 of the dataassociated with the video content request, the device 120 a streams thevideo content to play a video and the user can begin viewing the videomedia requested. In one specific embodiment, the requested video contentof the present example is hosted entirely on servers of the CDN 104. Inthe case of the CDN system 100 of FIG. 1, the CDN 104 manages thedistribution of content requested from one or more applications orapplication types such as Application X 170 and Application Y 174.

In FIG. 1, the number of content requests and requesting devices mayaffect the overall performance of the CDN and intermediate networks(network 102 and ISP 106). For example, a device and/or Application X170 may make multiple simultaneous content requests requiring the CDN104 to interpret multiple content requests and return data to the deviceas efficiently as possible, such as multiple content requestssimultaneously from CDN 104 via Application X 170 and Application Z 174.Similarly, requests for content may be made by device 120 b throughApplication Y 172. However, providing content from multiple applicationsto multiple devices through similar network paths (such as throughrouting device 110 of network 102) can raise various issues. Forexample, available communication paths from the CDN 104 to the device120 a may be limited in quality due to physical limitations ofnetworking devices of the network 102 and ISP 106. In another example,one or more applications (Application X or Z) being executed by thedevice 120 a may consume disproportionate amounts of bandwidth from theCDN 104, such as video stream content versus patch downloads. Suchissues may cause poor performance at the device 120 a and/or applicationand can also lead to network congestion.

As such, it may be desirable to prioritize network flow associated withcontent delivery for one or more applications requesting content. Forexample, it may be beneficial to configure consistent, real-timeperformance for applications that provide streaming media to the devicewhile temporarily or permanently limiting bandwith associated withcontent delivery for other applications that have less importance orpriority—such as applications that provide software patches. Inaddition, it may be desirable to configure real-time consistentperformance for certain applications by limiting the resolution of mediafiles played by applications in order to reduce buffering. It mayfurther be desirable to limit network flow associated with contentdelivery for applications to a consistent rate in order to ensure that aparticular bandwith is consistently available for the application and/ordevice. Aspects of the present disclosure directly address suchconsiderations.

Optimizing network flow from the CDN 104 to devices and applicationsenriches the network experience and reflects positively on the operatorof the CDN 104. Customizing network flow per applications and/or devicesincreases the probability that CDN 104 is making optimal use of allnetwork flow available in the network 102.

CDN Flow Application

As shown in FIG. 1, and shown in greater detail in FIG. 2, a CDN flowapplication (CDN Flow App) 112 may assist with configuring one or moreunique network flow parameters in order to specify network flowcharacteristics from the CDN 104 to devices 120 and applicationsexecuted by the devices. CDN flow application 112 may comprise aplurality of instructions and logic stored on one or more servers of theCDN 104 or on a storage device external to but communicably coupled tothe CDN 104. The instructions and logic of the CDN flow application 112may be carried out in software by a processor of one or more servers ofthe CDN 104, or a separate computing device coupled to the CDN 104. TheCDN flow application 112 may also be integrated with servers providingcontent.

As further detailed below, by tailoring or tuning network flow for aspecific type of application/device, such as Application X, Y, or Z, ortype of requested content, CDN system 100 optimizes network flow todevices and applications receiving content from the CDN 104. Forexample, where better performance (such as larger bandwidth and priorityqueuing) is demanded from certain types of applications, CDN flowapplication 112 can configure network flow parameters for contentdelivery associated with those certain types of applications inproportion to the other applications being executed by devices.

Network Flow Parameters

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary generation or configuration of certainnetwork flow parameters 212-220 specific to certain content type,applications, and/or devices requesting content to be delivered from theCDN 104. One or more servers of CDN 104 may be responsible forresponding to content requests from the various applications/devices202-208 in communication with the CDN. Thus, the applications/devices202-208 illustrated in FIG. 2 illustrate various content servers orcontent-providing devices of the CDN 104. For example, a requestingdevice to the CDN 104 may be directed to a first content server toretrieve the requested content associated with application 202. A secondrequesting device, requesting different content, may be directed to asecond content server associated with a second application 204. In otherembodiments, a single content server may provide all types of contentavailable from the CDN 104 such that the content server may provideapplication 202 and application 204 to one or more requesting devices.Thus, although illustrated in FIG. 2 as separate applications/devices,it should be appreciated that the requested content for the associatedapplication/device may be hosted or provided by any number of componentsof the CDN 104. In one embodiment, each of application/device types202-208 may be associated with a single particular type of applicationor requesting device as determined through the resolving of the requestfor content.

As shown in FIG. 2, CDN flow application 112 may generate or configure aplurality of separate unique network flow parameters for contentdelivery associated with each of the application/device types 202-208.In one embodiment, network flow parameters 212-220 may define specificparameters for content delivery associated with specific applicationssuch as Applications X, Y, and Z executed on the requesting devices 120of FIG. 1.

Configuring network flow parameters 212-220 at the CDN 104 based on anapplication requesting content may include any known or hereafterdeveloped flow control mechanism. For example, network flow control mayinclude specifying a predetermined transmission rate unique to one ormore of the applications when delivering content to a device. In anotherexample, network flow control may include providing a specific ordedicated bandwidth for delivering the content. In general, anyparameter that may affect congestion through the network may be adjustedor set at the CDN 104 through the CDN flow application 112 when arequest for content is received from a requesting device. Suchparameters may affect or tune the fill path of the transmission,available bandwidth, buffer priority and size, transmission window size,acceptable packet loss, and the like based on the application/devicerequesting the content.

The CDN 104 or other system then uses the set flow parameters to delivercontent to the requesting device. More specifically, bandwith may berestricted for a particular type of application/device to no more than10 Mbps which is a specific example of setting a flow parameter. In suchan example, it may have been determined that a client-side applicationinterface, such as a media player, performs optimally when contentdelivery is transmitted at a network flow of 10 Mbps and that increasesin network flow degrade performance of the media player. In otherexamples, lower bandwidth may be provided for requested content that ismerely being downloaded to the requesting device. In such a situation,packet loss is not important as lost packets may simply be resent fromthe CDN without a recognized performance effect at the requestingdevice. Thus, the downloaded content may have a lowerbandwidth/performance metrics set when being transmitted from the CDNcompared with other types of requested content.

In other embodiments, CDN flow application 112 includes functionality toadjust network flow parameters 212-220 to ensure that content deliveryfrom CDN 104 to a device or application remains consistent with respectto a predetermined transmission rate and network flow. For example, somemedia player applications may continuously request content delivery at amaximum rate. In such cases, when maximum bandwith is not available, themedia player may lag or buffer, the data transmission rate may drop, butthe data transmission rate may increase again upon the media playerdetermining that maximum bandwith has become available. Suchcircumstances can result in data transmission rates fluctuating rapidlyin speed and flow from the CDN 104 to the application resulting in arespective fluctuation in performance at the media player. CDN flowapplication 112, by limiting data transmission in the context of contentdelivery per application from the CDN 104 to a device such as device 120a (to a predetermined consistent rate), increases the probability thatthe content can ultimately be played and viewed in a consistent format.Consistent data streams further assist the operator of the CDN 104 withmanagement of bandwith and network flow as content is requested fromadditional separate applications. Consistent network flow may be desiredto deliver more consistent seamless delivery of content from CDN 104 forparticular applications.

TCP

In some embodiments, configuring network flow parameters includesadjusting flow control settings in a Transmission Control ProtocolInternet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or package associated with connectionsfor a specific application or type of application/device. TCP is atransport protocol in the Internet protocol suite, and is an example ofa reliable connection-oriented transport layer protocol operating abovethe network layer (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)) and data link layer.TCP connections may be used and modified by CDN flow application 112 todeliver content from the CDN 104 to devices 120 through one or moreconnecting networks. In other words, the TCP/IP stack provides thetransport protocol for transmitting the requested content to therequesting device.

A TCP/IP suite or package includes software components that facilitatemodification and configuration of network flow in a TCP connection toaddress network congestion. For example, a TCP/IP stack may include aflow control mechanism that allows for certain flow controls to beconfigured at the beginning of the transmission of data from one networkcomponent to another. Such flow control may determine the rate at whichthe content is transmitted through the network to the receivingcomponent, including bandwidth, priority of packets, queue length, andother types of congestion control.

In one particular example, TCP flow control may utilize a variable sizedwindow often referred to as a sliding window-based based flow protocol.A sliding window at the source port of a TCP connection is adjustedbased on the window size advertised by the destination port of the TCPconnection and the successful transmission of each TCP packet beingtransmitted. As the window size advertised by the TCP destination portincreases, the size of the sliding window at the TCP source port isincreased. Conversely, as the window size advertised by the TCPdestination port decreases, the size of the sliding window at the TCPsource port is decreased. For example, if the TCP destination portbuffer is full, the TCP destination port advertises a window size ofzero. The TCP source port then stops sending data to the TCP destinationport until it receives an advertisement from the TCP destination portindicating a nonzero window size.

When the network becomes congested, for example, when an intermediatesystem in the network becomes overloaded due to unavailable bandwidth orlack of buffer space, TCP packets may be dropped. This is detected bythe TCP source and/or destination port by out of sequence TCP end-to-endflow control sequence and acknowledgement (ACK) numbers. In such asituation, the TCP sliding window flow control mechanism functions as acongestion control mechanism, decreasing the sliding window size at theTCP source port. In some cases, a TCP sliding window flow controlmechanism can modify the advertised window to match capacity in thenetwork. In either case, TCP sliding windows can be adjusted dynamicallywhen packet loss occurs or when a receiver is unable to cope with aninitial rate of reception of data.

In a similar manner, other aspects of controlling the flow of datapackets through a network between two communicating components may beimplemented by the CDN in response to a request for content from aparticular application or device. For example, one or more aspects ofthe signaling protocol may control a priority criteria of data packetswithin a transmission to signal to processing devices that the datapackets should be prioritized in a particular way. Similarly, aspects ofthe TCP signaling protocol may control a queue management at anycomponent along the transmission path. Thus, the signaling protocolutilized to transmit the data packets from the sending component to thereceiving component may include one or more mechanisms to establish aquality of service particular to the transmission.

In some embodiments, according to FIG. 2, network flow parameters212-220, include specialized TCP flow control settings, which areadjusted by CDN flow application 112. In other words, upon receiving arequest by an application or device, the CDN 104 may utilize CDN flowapplication 112 to tune one or more network flow mechanisms, such as TCPconnections. In this manner, unique predetermined flow control settingsfor each of specific application/device types communicating with the CDN104 may be set by the CDN flow application 112 in order to customizecontent delivery and network flow.

As a specific example, in some embodiments, a TCP connection may beestablished between a server of the CDN 104 and a device such as device120 a as an application being executed by the device 120 a, requestscontent from the CDN 104. In such an example, the source port would be aport of a server of CDN 104, and the destination port would be a port ofthe device 120 a. The sliding window-based flow protocol of TCP flowcontrol may then be set by the CDN 104 in response to the particularapplication for which the requested content is provided. Moreparticularly, a sliding window at the CDN 104 source port of a TCPconnection may be adjusted based on the window size advertised by thedevice 120 a destination port of the TCP connection and the successfultransmission of each TCP packet being transmitted. In some embodiments,predetermined adjustments to the sliding window may be handledautomatically by CDN flow application 112 according to predeterminedconfigurations or instructions. More particularly, the network flowparameters may specify certain predetermined automatic adjustments tothe sliding window.

In some instances, using TCP flow control mechanisms, as the window sizeadvertised by the device 120 a TCP destination port is increased, thesize of the sliding window at the CDN 104 TCP source port may beincreased. In some embodiments, CDN flow application 112 may increasethe sliding window at the CDN 104 TCP source port for TCP connectionsfor specific applications where it is determined that the applicationbeing executed by the device 120 a TCP destination port is performingefficiently and is capable of receiving and processing increased amountsof content data from CDN 104. Further, the initial sliding windowparameter may be set based on the type of application or devicerequesting the content. For example, a large window may be set for avideo content to ensure less buffering at the receiving device.Conversely, a smaller window may be set for download or patch content asthe data provided for such downloads may not need as a high a quality ofservice in the transmission of the content. This may allow an operatorof the CDN 104 to provide different levels of quality of service for thedifferent types of content being provided by the CDN to requestingdevices.

In one particular example, CDN flow application 112 may adjust TCP flowcontrol settings to reduce certain network flow characteristics from theCDN 104 to the device 120 a. In some embodiments, CDN flow application112 may decrease the window size advertised by the device 120 a TCPdestination port. In such cases, such reductions to the window sizeadvertised by the device 120 a TCP destination port may result in theCDN 104 reducing the flow of data transmission and content delivery tothe TCP destination port. In one instance, decreasing the window size isparticularly helpful when, for example, the device 120 a is executing anapplication, and the application is struggling with respect to itsability to make use of content delivered from CDN 104.

In some aspects of the present disclosure, the window size advertised bythe device 120 a TCP destination port may not necessarily automaticallyincrease or decrease but CDN flow application 112 can manually adjustthe size of the sliding window at the CDN 104 TCP source port based uponthe needs of the network 102 to adjust network flow from the CDN 104 tothe device 120 a TCP destination port. More specifically, the CDN flowapplication 112 can override the automatic adjustment of the advertisedwindow size to modify network flow according to the network flowparameters. Network flow parameters can adjust the TCP sliding windowflow control mechanism to customize network flow for particular types ofapplications/devices.

The TCP sliding window flow control mechanism being controlled by theCDN flow application 112, may function as a congestion controlmechanism; decreasing the sliding window size when it is desired for agiven application to reduce data flow from CDN 104 to a devicerequesting content associated with the given application. In otherwords, using the CDN flow application 112 and network flow parameters,the TCP sliding window flow control application mechanism candynamically modify a window of the TCP flow control mechanism, perapplication, to match capacity in the network and the window can furtherbe reduced when packet loss occurs or when the receiver, such as anapplication and/or device 120 a, is unable to cope with the rate ofreception of data. By reducing or increasing the window size of TCPconnections between the CDN 104 and devices 120, the CDN flowapplication 112 and operator of the CDN 104 ensure that content is beingdistributed to devices such as devices 120 a and 120 b just as fast asthe devices 120 and applications initiating the content request canprocess and make use of such data. In addition, any automaticadjustments to the window of the TCP flow control mechanism can beoverridden where network flow parameters demand, for example, constantand consistent network flow. Such tailoring of TCP flow control settingsfor TCP connections as described can further assist the CDN 104 withother technical considerations. For example, modifying TCP flow controlsettings can facilitate provisioning constant data transmission ratesfor content delivery specific to certain applications. Modifying TCPflow control settings can further facilitate greater network flow forcontent delivery associated with certain applications in proportion toother applications.

In some embodiments, CDN flow application 112 includes preconfiguredfunctionality and algorithms to tune TCP flow control for TCPconnections established between the CDN 104 and devices 120. In otherembodiments, preexisting TCP flow control algorithms may be adjusted toarrive at the network flow parameters specific to certain types ofapplications/devices.

Returning to FIG. 2, using CDN flow application 112, a number of networkflow parameters 212-220 may be set to configure network flow of contentdelivery for specific application/device types 202-208. In the case ofFIG. 2, network flow parameters 212 are configured for a certain type ofapplication/device 202, network flow parameters 214 are configured for acertain type of application/device 204, network flow parameters 216 areconfigured for a certain type of application/device 206, and networkflow parameters 218 and network flow parameters 220 are configured for acertain type of application/device 208.

FIG. 2 illustrates that more than one set of network flow parameters maybe configured for a particular application/device. For example, in oneembodiment, more than one set of network flow parameters may be set todefine network flow for content delivery associated with a certain typeof application (208). Having more than one set of network flowparameters addresses a variety of possible needs. For example, a certaintype of application may perform better, and may be able to handle morenetwork flow of content on a laptop (device 120 b) as opposed to amobile phone (device 120 a). Thus, for the type of application 208,network flow parameters 218 may be set and tuned for content delivery toa mobile phone, whereas network flow parameters 220 may be set and tunedfor content delivery to a laptop; both network parameters 218 and 220being associated with a single application type. Having more than oneset of network flow parameters per type of application can also addressa scenario where an application may need greater network flow during theday, but at night, may be configured to be limited with respect tonetwork flow by the CDN flow application 112 and CDN 104 in order toallow other applications to have greater network flow at night. In someembodiments, three or more sets of network flow parameters may be setfor a specific type of application/device depending upon the needs ofthe CDN 104, and the performance of the application/device.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary process flow 500 for specifying orconfiguring network flow parameters for content delivery specific todifferent types of applications and/or devices using a CDN flowapplication 112 managed by a CDN 104 and fulfilling requests for contentusing the network flow parameters. Specifically, in block 502, aplurality of network flow parameters, such as network flow parameters212-220 of FIG. 2 are set or configured for a plurality of specifictypes of applications and/or devices communicating with a CDN 104.Information about the network flow parameters may be stored in adatabase of the CDN 104. Requests may be received to prioritizeallotment of network flow to one or more types of applications/devicesthat are of particular importance. Further, requests may be receivedthat network flow for content delivery associated with a respectiveapplication/device type where the quality of service of the data flow belimited, decreased, or increased as desired. Such requests may beaddressed by adjusting the network flow parameters using the CDN flowapplication 112. As discussed above, network flow parameters may includecustomized adjustments to TCP flow control settings, setting predefinednetwork flow caps or limits on network flow allocated to contentdelivery for a given type of application/device, and the like.

In block 504, a first content request for a first type ofapplication/device is received at the CDN 104. The content request maybe, e.g., a request that CDN 104 deliver content to allow a device tostream a video or audio file via a media player associated with thefirst type of application, a webpage to be viewed on a web browser ofthe requesting device, or a download request for a patch or new programto be installed on the requesting device. As further shown in block 506,the first type of application may be identified as the requesting typeof application based upon a host name associated with the first contentrequest.

In block 508, using CDN flow application 112, a lookup or query isconducted to retrieve network flow parameters that have been assigned,set, or configured for content requests associated with the first typeof application/device. In the example of FIG. 3, it is determined thatusing CDN flow application 112 first network flow parameters have beenset for the first type of application/device. Specifically, as shown inFIG. 2, the first type of application/device of FIG. 3 may be the typeof application/device 202 and it can be seen that network flowparameters 212 have been set for the first type of application/devicewhich may consequently be retrieved.

In block 510, the CDN 104 fulfills the content request by deliveringcontent to the first application/device type with network flow forcontent delivery defined by the first network flow parameters, ornetwork flow parameters 212. In some cases, network flow parameters 212may specify customized TCP flow control settings, decreased networkflow, or caps on network flow based on the characteristics and nature ofthe first type of application/device or preferences of the CDN system100.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process flow 600 for adjusting thenetwork flow parameters that have previously been configured or set forone or more specific types of application/devices being managed withrespect to content delivery by a CDN 104. In block 602, a plurality ofcontent requests associated with a first type of application/device isfulfilled by a CDN based upon predefined network flow parameters. Thefirst type of application/device may be the application/device type 202as shown in FIG. 2. The predefined network flow parameters may benetwork flow parameters 212 of FIG. 2. Network flow parameters 212customize network flow for content delivery specific to the first typeof application/device.

In block 604, it may be determined that the predefined network flowparameters associated with the first type of application/device shouldbe modified. For example, it may be determined that the network flowparameters 212 previously assigned to the first type ofapplication/device (the application type 202) need to be modified oradjusted. Modifying the network flow parameters may include increasingor decreasing network flow for content requests associated with thefirst type of application/device by adjusting TCP flow control settingsfor the first type of application/device and/or modifying a maximum datatransmission rate or bandwith settings for the first type ofapplication/device. The determination to adjust network flow may be madebased upon a variety of factors. For example, a new media player may bedeployed that is associated with the first application/device type thatcan handle increased network flow when devices request content from theCDN 104 via the new media player.

In other embodiments, it may be determined that network flow parametersshould be adjusted when the first type of application/device isexceeding or failing to meet a predetermined performance threshold basedupon performance data as content is being delivered to the firstapplication/device. The performance data may include e.g., packet loss,instances of network congestion, or instances of buffering. Morespecifically, initial network flow parameters may be configured for afirst application/device type which limit network flow for the firstapplication/device type because the first application/device typeexhibits poor performance at a device requesting content, e.g., thefirst application/device causes network congestion because it does notmake use of content delivered from CDN 104 efficiently. Yet, the networkflow for the first application/device type can be increased later onwhen performance data indicates that the first application/device typehas improved with respect to receipt and utilization of contentdelivered from CDN 104.

In block 606, the network flow parameters associated with the first typeof application/device are modified or adjusted. Such modifications oradjustments may include increases or decreases with respect to serverdata transmission caps specific to the first application/device. Forexample, as part of the network flow parameters, servers of the CDN 104that handle content delivery requests from devices executing the firsttype of application/device may be configured to limit network flow to apredetermined rate or a predetermined bandwith. The predetermined rateor bandwith may be increased or decreased in block 606. Further,modifications or adjustments to the network flow parameters may includepredetermined modifications to a TCP flow control mechanism.

In block 608, subsequent content requests associated with the first typeof application/device are fulfilled according to the modified networkflow parameters. It should be understood that the network flowparameters for the first type of application/device can be modifiedadditional times based upon the needs of the CDN 104, the performance ofthe application or device, or additional requests.

In some embodiments, the adjustment of the network flow parameters maybe tailored to include a hysteresis effect to prevent sudden changes tothe flow of data to the receiving device. For example, the CDN flowapplication 112 of FIG. 2 may be configured to adjust the stream of datapackets after a predetermined period of time upon receiving anindication of a change in the flow from the receiving device. This mayprevent the network devices from receiving quick changes in the flow ofdata and to possibly overwhelm the devices or cause other types ofcongestion. In another example, the flow may be tailored to slowlyadjust to changes in the network environment. Thus, if the receivingdevice indicates that more data may be transmitted to the device, theCDN flow application 112 may incrementally increase or decrease the dataflow accordingly until the requested upper or lower threshold isreached. This slow adjustment to the data flow may further lessen theimpact on the network devices for changes or adjustments to the networkflow.

FIG. 5 is an example schematic diagram of a computing system 700 thatmay implement various methodologies discussed herein. For example, thecomputing system 700 may comprise one or more servers of the CDN 104used to execute the CDN flow application 112 and configure network flowparameters for specific applications, or, it may comprise a computingsystem used by end users to communicate with the CDN 104 and receivecontent for one or more applications. The computing system 700 includesa bus 701 (i.e., interconnect), at least one processor 702 or othercomputing element, at least one communication port 703, a main memory704, a removable storage media 705, a read-only memory 706, and a massstorage device 707. Processor(s) 702 can be any known processor, suchas, but not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2® processor(s),AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), or Motorola® lines ofprocessors. Communication port 703 can be any of an RS-232 port for usewith a modem based dial-up connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabitport using copper or fiber, or a USB port. Communication port(s) 703 maybe chosen depending on a network such as a Local Area Network (LAN), aWide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system 200connects. Computing system may further include a transport and/ortransit network 755, a display screen 760, an I/O port 740, and an inputdevice 745 such as a mouse or keyboard.

Main memory 704 can be Random Access Memory (RAM) or any other dynamicstorage device(s) commonly known in the art. Read-only memory 706 can beany static storage device(s) such as Programmable Read-Only Memory(PROM) chips for storing static information such as instructions forprocessor 702. Mass storage device 707 can be used to store informationand instructions. For example, hard disks such as the Adaptec® family ofSmall Computer Serial Interface (SCSI) drives, an optical disc, an arrayof disks such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), such asthe Adaptec® family of RAID drives, or any other mass storage devices,may be used.

Bus 701 communicatively couples processor(s) 702 with the other memory,storage, and communications blocks. Bus 701 can be a PCI/PCI-X, SCSI, orUniversal Serial Bus (USB) based system bus (or other) depending on thestorage devices used. Removable storage media 705 can be any kind ofexternal hard drives, thumb drives, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory(CD-ROM), Compact Disc-Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk—Read OnlyMemory (DVD-ROM), etc.

Embodiments herein may be provided as a computer program product, whichmay include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructionswhich may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) toperform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is notlimited to optical discs, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs,erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards,flash memory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitablefor storing electronic instructions. Moreover, embodiments herein mayalso be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the programmay be transferred from a remote computer to a requesting computer byway of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagationmedium via a communication link (e.g., modem or network connection).

As shown, main memory 704 is encoded with a CDN flow application 112that supports functionality as discussed above and as discussed furtherbelow. For example, in one embodiment, the CDN flow application 112 mayinclude or otherwise implement the various processes and/or instructionsfor configuring network flow parameters for specific applications asdescribed herein. The CDN flow application 112 (and/or other resourcesas described herein) can be embodied as software code such as dataand/or logic instructions (e.g., code stored in the memory or on anothercomputer readable medium such as a disk) that supports processingfunctionality according to different embodiments described herein.During operation of one embodiment, processor(s) 702 accesses mainmemory 704 via the use of bus 701 in order to launch, run, execute,interpret, or otherwise perform processes, such as through logicinstructions, executing on the processor 702 and based on the CDN flowapplication 112 stored in main memory or otherwise tangibly stored.

The description above includes example systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and/or computer program products that embodytechniques of the present disclosure. However, it is understood that thedescribed disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Inthe present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented as setsof instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it isunderstood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methodsdisclosed are instances of example approaches. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within thedisclosed subject matter. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not necessarilymeant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The described disclosure may be provided as a computer program product,or software, that may include a machine-readable medium having storedthereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (orother electronic devices) to perform a process according to the presentdisclosure. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storinginformation in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readableby a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine-readable medium mayinclude, but is not limited to optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM);magneto-optical storage medium, read only memory (ROM); random accessmemory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM);flash memory; or other types of medium suitable for storing electronicinstructions.

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages should be understood by the foregoing description, and itshould be apparent that various changes may be made in the form,construction, and arrangement of the components without departing fromthe disclosed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its materialadvantages. The form described is merely explanatory, and it is theintention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tovarious embodiments, it should be understood that these embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited tothem. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements arepossible. More generally, embodiments in accordance with the presentdisclosure have been described in the context of particularimplementations. Functionality may be separated or combined in blocksdifferently in various embodiments of the disclosure or described withdifferent terminology. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the disclosureas defined in the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of optimizing network traffic flow for acontent delivery network (CDN), comprising: assigning a first networkflow parameter for a first application requesting content from the CDNfrom one or more user devices in communication with the CDN, the firstnetwork flow parameter establishing one or more quality of servicecriteria for a transmission of the requested content associated withproviding content to the first application; receiving a request forcontent at a content server of the CDN from a requesting device, therequest received from the first application executing on the requestingdevice and comprising a host name associated with the first application;applying the first network flow parameter for transmitting the requestedcontent to the requesting device in response to the host name associatedwith the first application; and transmitting the requested content tothe requesting device with the first network flow parameters applied tothe transmission of the requested content associated with providingcontent to the first application.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein therequested content is a video file and the application of the firstnetwork flow parameter comprises a first bandwidth for transmitting therequested content to the requesting device.
 3. The method of claim 2wherein the requested content is a data file and the application of thefirst network flow parameter comprises a second bandwidth fortransmitting the requested content to the requesting device, the secondbandwidth being less than the first bandwidth.
 4. The method of claim 1further comprising: establishing a transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) connection with the requestingdevice; and wherein the first network flow parameter comprises a TCP/IPflow control parameter.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the host namecomprises a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the firstapplication and the method further comprises identifying a type of thefirst application based on the URL associated with the firstapplication.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first network flowparameter comprises network server data transmission caps to limit datatransmission to a predefined rate during transmission of the requestedcontent.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first network flowparameter comprises a queue priority for data packets associated withthe transmission of the requested content associated with providingcontent to the first application.
 8. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: assigning a second network flow parameter different from thefirst network parameter for a second application type; and receiving asecond content request at the content server of the CDN, the requestreceived from the second application comprising a host name associatedwith the second application.
 9. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising: applying the second network flow parameter for transmittingthe requested content to the requesting device in response to the hostname associated with the second application; and transmitting therequested content to the requesting device with the second network flowparameters applied to the transmission of the requested contentassociated with providing content to the second application.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising adjusting the first network flowparameter based on a time of day.
 11. A content delivery network (CDN)networking device comprising: at least one communication port forreceiving a request for content from a first application executed on aclient device, the request comprising an identification of the content;a processing device; and a computer-readable medium connected to theprocessing device configured to store information and instructions that,when executed by the processing device, performs the operations of:assigning a first network flow parameter for a first application, thefirst network flow parameter establishing one or more quality of servicecriteria for a transmission of the requested content associated withproviding content to the first application; applying the first networkflow parameter for transmitting the requested content to the clientdevice in response to the identification of the content associated withthe first application; and transmitting the requested content to theclient device with the first network flow parameters applied to thetransmission of the requested content associated with providing contentto the first application.
 12. The networking device of claim 11 whereinthe requested content is a video file and the application of the firstnetwork flow parameter comprises a first bandwidth for transmitting therequested content to the client device.
 13. The networking device ofclaim 12 wherein the requested content is a data file and theapplication of the first network flow parameter comprises a secondbandwidth for transmitting the requested content to the client device,the second bandwidth being less than the first bandwidth.
 14. Thenetworking device of claim 11 wherein the identification of the contentcomprises a host name within a uniform resource locator (URL) associatedwith the first application.
 15. The networking device of claim 11wherein the processing device is further configured to perform theoperations of: identifying a type of the first application based on theURL associated with the first application.
 16. The networking device ofclaim 11 wherein the processing device is further configured to performthe operations of: identifying a type of the client device based on theURL associated with the first application.
 17. The networking device ofclaim 11 wherein the processing device is further configured to performthe operations of: establishing a transmission control protocol/Internetprotocol (TCP/IP) connection with the client device; and wherein thefirst network flow parameter comprises a TCP/IP flow control parameter.18. A content delivery network (CDN) comprising: a first content serverconfigured to: assign a first network flow parameter for a firstapplication requesting content form the CDN from one or more userdevices in communication with the CDN, the first network flow parameterestablishing one or more quality of service criteria for a transmissionof the requested content associated with providing content to the firstapplication; receive a request for content at a content server of theCDN from a requesting device, the request received from the firstapplication executing on the requesting device and comprising a hostname associated with the first application; identify a type of the firstapplication based on the host name associated with the firstapplication; apply the first network flow parameter for transmitting therequested content to the requesting device in response to the identifiedtype of the first application; and transmit the requested content to therequesting device with the first network flow parameters applied to thetransmission of the requested content associated with providing contentto the first application.
 19. The content delivery network of claim 18wherein the requested content is a video file and the application of thefirst network flow parameter comprises a first bandwidth fortransmitting the requested content to the requesting device.
 20. Thecontent delivery network of claim 19 wherein the requested content is adata file and the application of the first network flow parametercomprises a second bandwidth for transmitting the requested content tothe requesting device, the second bandwidth being less than the firstbandwidth.